4 ms·

"(1) the government, with few exceptions, is a TERRIBLE place to build effective tech skills. Slow, heavily outsourced, bureaucratic beyond belief, and low paid

"(1) the government, with few exceptions, is a TERRIBLE place to build effective tech skills. Slow, heavily outsourced, bureaucratic beyond belief, and low paid, there is very little creativity and variety in which to build unique technology, and no reward for the BS." Strong claim; links or citations to back it up? (Not necessarily doubting you, but it sounds a bit like a right-wing talking point, and hence I ask) You're right about pay problems, though. With public sector jobs, you have to do it for the calling, not the bottom-line cash (imho).

bpodgursky 6y ago
I think the null hypothesis is more useful here; assume that NOWHERE builds tech skills until otherwise demonstrated. What you see: a bunch of tech startups founded by ex-Google, ex-FB, ex-Amazon employees. What you never see: hot tech startups founded by ex-government bureaucrats At very best/worst, you get beltway contractors who have "skills" at extracting money from the government. Those contractor firms NEVER end up selling back to private industry, because they have nothing to offer. I think that this is one of those cases where "citation needed" is a way to avoid the blindingly obvious truth of the statement. No, we haven't done a controlled experiment on the government vs private enterprise in skill creation. Sometimes you have to use common sense and obvious experience.
- antimeridian 6y ago
  i don't know that I would use "founded a tech startup" as a good proxy for skill creation. perhaps the type of people who acquire tech skills in government are aren't necessarily primed to found a startup
  - nitrogen 6y ago
    To elaborate on this, it's conceivable that startups come from tech giants not because of tech skill, but rather because of confidence and connections.
- curiousllama 6y ago
  To be fair, most DO in fact sell back to private sector (Booz Allen, Mckinsey, Accenture), just not back to tech companies. I've found tech maturity is more a function of age and context than public/private.
- bumby 6y ago
  Although I wouldn't be surprised if there's data to support what you stated, I also thin it's possible there are other confounding attributes. Many government employees are motivated by different factors. Somebody who is motivated by pay would likely gravitate towards the private sector and starting their own business. Somebody motivated by service may be more apt to apply to government jobs. For instance, I would seriously doubt mathematicians who work for intelligence agencies are lower-skilled; this is probably an occupation that selects for other traits. I am also aware of a LOT of former government employees who start their own companies but it's not clear how much of their success is due to skills vs. network effects.
- wolco 6y ago
  In fairness getting vc money for government contracts is the problem not the employees who start companies. Long lead times don't go well with the pump and dump vc funding model.

bpodgursky 6y ago

I think the null hypothesis is more useful here; assume that NOWHERE builds tech skills until otherwise demonstrated. What you see: a bunch of tech startups founded by ex-Google, ex-FB, ex-Amazon employees. What you never see: hot tech startups founded by ex-government bureaucrats At very best/worst, you get beltway contractors who have "skills" at extracting money from the government. Those contractor firms NEVER end up selling back to private industry, because they have nothing to offer. I think that this is one of those cases where "citation needed" is a way to avoid the blindingly obvious truth of the statement. No, we haven't done a controlled experiment on the government vs private enterprise in skill creation. Sometimes you have to use common sense and obvious experience.

antimeridian 6y ago
i don't know that I would use "founded a tech startup" as a good proxy for skill creation. perhaps the type of people who acquire tech skills in government are aren't necessarily primed to found a startup
- nitrogen 6y ago
  To elaborate on this, it's conceivable that startups come from tech giants not because of tech skill, but rather because of confidence and connections.
curiousllama 6y ago
To be fair, most DO in fact sell back to private sector (Booz Allen, Mckinsey, Accenture), just not back to tech companies. I've found tech maturity is more a function of age and context than public/private.
bumby 6y ago
Although I wouldn't be surprised if there's data to support what you stated, I also thin it's possible there are other confounding attributes. Many government employees are motivated by different factors. Somebody who is motivated by pay would likely gravitate towards the private sector and starting their own business. Somebody motivated by service may be more apt to apply to government jobs. For instance, I would seriously doubt mathematicians who work for intelligence agencies are lower-skilled; this is probably an occupation that selects for other traits. I am also aware of a LOT of former government employees who start their own companies but it's not clear how much of their success is due to skills vs. network effects.
wolco 6y ago
In fairness getting vc money for government contracts is the problem not the employees who start companies. Long lead times don't go well with the pump and dump vc funding model.